A study, to be officially published soon, has revealed that more Jamaicans are less willing to accept or pay bribes.

Speaking yesterday at a Rotary Club Luncheon at the Spanish Court Hotel in St Andrew, executive director of National Integrity Action, Professor Trevor Munroe, cited statistics from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) study done last year, which indicated that only approximately 27 per cent of Jamaicans were willing to accept bribes, a reduction from 56 per cent recorded in 2006.

"Encouraging news from the Latin American Public Opinion Project, which publishes surveys over the entire Western Hemisphere, including Jamaica, every two years. In its 2017 report, it found that fewer Jamaicans today, in this extreme situation of hardship and difficulty in getting things done, are prepared to tolerate paying or taking a bribe. These are positive signs on which to build," Munroe stated.

NATIONWIDE STUDY

"Last year, the office of the Contractor General commissioned a nationwide study done by the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies. This was a study among young people ages 10-19, mainly in educational institutions. That survey found convincing evidence that the vast majority of these young people knew the difference between right and wrong. Almost nine out of 10 of the young people in that survey saw lotto scamming as wrong. What was even somewhat more surprising to me was that even persons who are unemployed and financially deprived, nine out of 10, saw stealing electricity as wrong."

He further highlighted that more persons are giving information on criminal activities through Crime Stop's 311 tip line.

"There are other indicators that more and more of our people are beginning to do the right thing. For example, last year, there was a significant increase in tips received by Crime Stop. It moved from 523 in 2016 to 912 in 2017. That is over a 70 per cent increase. As a result, more wrongdoers were arrested, and over $2 million was paid out in rewards. More recently, we are told that the JDF (Jamaica Defence Force) tip hotline, as it relates to the state of emergency in St James, has been flooded with calls from citizens giving information to assist the security forces."

... NIA gives thumbs up to state of emergency

Executive director of National Integrity Action (NIA), Professor Trevor Munroe, has given his support to the state of public emergency now under way in St James.

"The declaration of the state of emergency in St James reflected, at long last, the Government doing the right and necessary thing, and with the support of the Opposition. This is a good start, but all of us need to ensure that good effects follow from this as was accomplished for a time after the 2010 state of emergency," Munroe said yesterday at a Rotary Club Luncheon at the Spanish Court Hotel in St Andrew.

"That state of emergency ruptured a decades-long upward trend, not only in murder, but all serious crimes. Between 2010 and 2014, an average of 400 less Jamaicans were murdered per year, compared to 2005-2009. In other words, that state of emergency allowed approximately 2,000 more Jamaicans in those five years to enjoy the fundamental right to life."